June 8, 2012 -- The long-awaited prequel to “Alien” has finally arrived. Well, it isn't exactly a prequel to “Alien” but it sort of is. It takes place in the future, but at a time prior to the time period of the first “Alien” movie. There isn't quite as much slime as there is in “Alien,” but there are plenty of violent deaths. The story is pretty straightforward science fiction, but thankfully it doesn't totally follow the clichés of the genre.

One thing this movie has is absolutely the coolest spaceships I've ever seen with wonderful holographs and computers with advanced interfaces. The futuristic machinery is just awesome. It is a fantastic spectacle, especially in 3D. The 3D effects are amazing. It looks like they may have exaggerated the depth effect a bit. There are also some holographic-style memory images in the film and some holographic recordings. The production design by Arthur Max and the art direction of the film are spectacular. It is an awesome feat of visual art.

The story is about an archaeological expedition to a distant solar system that may hold the secret to the genesis of humans on earth. This distant solar system was found by comparing star charts with symbols left on the walls of ancient caves on earth, including one at the Isle of Skye. The theory behind the trillion dollar expedition is that the beings who presumably genetically engineered humans on earth could hold valuable biological secrets.

Of course the expedition is doomed, just as most of those “Alien” movie expeditions were doomed. It turns out to be a very bad idea to go digging around on the world of these ancient gods. That sinking feeling starts early in the movie when we see one of these ancient aliens apparently commit suicide. We never learn why. It is the first of many mysteries.

We never really learn much about this alien culture because the message keeps changing. It reminded me of that old Donovan song, “There is a Mountain” in which he sings, over and over in the chorus, “First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is ...” Similarly, in this movie the aliens are said to have put humans on the earth in the first place, then they decide to destroy them, then they change their minds and decide not to destroy them, then they change their minds again ... After a few of these reversals, you really don't know where this is going, and you don't care, either. It is just silly.

One of the scientists in the film also points out the absurdity of the whole notion of aliens planting humans on earth because that makes no sense in terms of all the evidence for human evolution from earlier forms of hominids. Biologically, it makes no sense for the aliens to have DNA identical to humans, when there are significant physical differences, sheer size for one. This is a very familiar theme in science fiction, the idea of a species seeding other planets with its humanoid offspring. The main reason for most alien life being humanoid in science fiction is simply due to the inherent technical difficulty and expense of making movies or TV shows about forms of life other than humanoids.

Another surprising thing about this supposed alien eden being explored in the film is the total absence of plant or most other animal life, except for some really nasty creatures with some similarities to the classic creature from “Alien.” While the story doesn't make much sense, it does have a nice message about the human need to explore its roots and the courage explorers have to plunge into the unknown. There is also a fine example of heroic self-sacrifice.

Michael Fassbender stars as the intriguing android David, who, like the android in “Alien,” has a scary dark side. Charlize Theron does a nice job playing the emotionless ice queen Meredith Vickers. Vickers tries her very self-centered best to stay safe in a very unsafe situation. Playing the Sigorney Weaker tough girl survivor type role is the gritty scientist Elizabeth Shaw (played by Noomi Rapace of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”). Rapace is plenty gritty in this role, even surviving a sort of biological rape event not totally different than the rape of her character in “Dragon Tattoo.” These actors do a very good job sustaining interesting characters in an uneven story. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2012 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
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